England 211 (49.5 ov)
Pakistan 215/2 (37.1 ov)
Pakistan won by 8 wickets (with 77 balls remaining)
Pakistan booked their place in the Champions Trophy final with a crushing eight-wicket win over England in Cardiff on Wednesday.
Set just 212 to win, Pakistan finished on 215-2.
Pakistan will now face title-holders India in Sunday’s final at The Oval if their arch-rivals beat Bangladesh in Thursday’s second semi-final at Edgbaston.
Azhar Ali (76) and Fakhar Zaman (57) all but ended previously unbeaten tournament hosts England’s slim hopes of victory with an opening stand of 118.
But the real damage was done when England collapsed to 211 all out after Pakistan captain Sarfraz Ahmed won the toss on a used pitch that played more like a sub-continental surface than a British one.
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Paceman Hasan Ali led a disciplined attack with a man-of-the-match return of 3-35 from his maximum 10 overs.
“Credit goes to the bowlers and the batters who finished it very well,” said Sarfraz at the presentation ceremony. “We adapted to conditions, we knew if we restrict them we could easily chase it down,” he added. “Every game is a knockout game and I told my boys to play their game and not worry about the result.”
His England counterpart Eoin Morgan said his side failed to adapt to the conditions in Cardiff.
Morgan’s men returned to Wales on the back of an unblemished group-stage campaign with their eye on a third successive home final in this tournament, and an ongoing statement of their intent for the 2019 World Cup on home soil.
“One thing we didn’t do today was adapt to conditions,” Morgan told Sky Sports 2. “Coming from Edgbaston which was a good wicket to a used wicket, we didn’t adapt very well.
“Pakistan did that extremely well and full credit to them. They outplayed us today on this wicket.
“I don’t think we were simply used to it. We did prepare like we were going to play on a used wicket. Pakistan bowled well but we didn’t manage to adjust with the bat. Two hundred isn’t a competitive score.
“We looked at the game they played previously, 250, 270 would have been a good score.”
The match took place on a pitch which had already been used in the tournament, when Pakistan beat Sri Lanka in their Group B clash. However, Morgan did not think that was the reason for England’s demise.
“It’s the way the tournament is. We knew that coming into the tournament,” Morgan said of the pitch.
“It’s the test of the Champions Trophy. You have to be able to be good in all conditions. There’s no home advantage for any side.
“I thought we bowled OK but certainly defending 200 we have to produce a well above-par bowling performance. If we had put 280 on the board it might have been a different game.
“I don’t think we did play anything rash today. Everything we did play was quite calculated. We did try and adjust to the wicket. It was simply the fact that Pakistan have played on the wicket already and that helped them.”
England lost their last eight wickets for 83 runs, failed to hit a single six on this small playing area, and were unable to make Pakistan pay for a series of early fielding lapses which benefited Jonny Bairstow especially.
Many wondered if a tricky chase might nonetheless be on the cards, but openers Azhar and Zaman made a mockery of that notion in a stand of 118.
Their opposite number Bairstow – brought in to open for the first time in international cricket in place of the out-of-form Jason Roy – had responded with a battling 43, but on a used pitch that precluded fluent strokeplay as the ball swung too, England could never get a foothold and folded tamely in their attempt to set a defendable total.
England coach Trevor Bayliss said that exiting the tournament at this stage is probably correct when considering the hosts’ ranking in world cricket.
“All credit to Pakistan today, they were too good for us,” Bayliss said. “Two hundred and fifty or 260 would have been a good score and then it would have been a different run chase. Our bowlers probably tried to chase the wickets too much and served up too many half volleys.
“There’s a number of our guys who haven’t been at this level before and it is a learning curve.
“Finishing third or fourth, I think that’s about right where we sit in world cricket at the moment. We’ve got a long way to go until we reach the level we want to get to and a level I believe we’re good enough to get to.”
* Agencies
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